The First Relief of Shapur I

The first and indeed one of the earliest reliefs of Shapur has been carved on the left bank of Tang-e Chogan and consists of a combined scene of investiture and triumph executed in a style characteristic of the period of Ardashir.The king receives a diadem from Ohrmazd. Both figures are mounted and facing each other; the god’s horse tramples a prone figure interpreted as Ahriman beneath its hooves, and the king’s horse crushs the slain Roman emperor Gordian III. Philip the Arab, kneeling and suppliant, is the only other figure represented. The fact that Valerian is not included in this relief suggests that it should be dated before his defeat and captivity in 260, perhaps even before the formal foundation of the city.